Recent Advances in Neural Recording Microsystems

Abstract

The accelerating pace of research in neuroscience has created a considerable demand for neural interfacing microsystems capable of monitoring the activity of large groups of neurons. These emerging tools have revealed a tremendous potential for the advancement of knowledge in brain research and for the development of useful clinical applications. They can extract the relevant control signals directly from the brain enabling individuals with severe disabilities to communicate their intentions to other devices, like computers or various prostheses. Such microsystems are self-contained devices composed of a neural probe attached with an integrated circuit for extracting neural signals from multiple channels, and transferring the data outside the body. The greatest challenge facing development of such emerging devices into viable clinical systems involves addressing their small form factor and low-power consumption constraints, while providing superior resolution. In this paper, we survey the recent progress in the design and the implementation of multi-channel neural recording Microsystems, with particular emphasis on the design of recording and telemetry electronics. An overview of the numerous neural signal modalities is given and the existing microsystem topologies are covered. We present energy-efficient sensory circuits to retrieve weak signals from neural probes and we compare them. We cover data management and smart power scheduling approaches, and we review advances in low-power telemetry. Finally, we conclude by summarizing the remaining challenges and by highlighting the emerging trends in the field.

A 2.1 μW/channel current-mode integrated neural recording interface

“…With an increase in the range of applications and their functionalities, neuroprosthetic devices are progressing towards a closed-loop control system [10] with front-end neural recording interface, and a back-end neural-signal processing. The block diagram of a N-channel neural recording system is illustrated in Figure 1.…”

System-Level Design of a Full-Duplex Wireless Transceiver for Brain–Machine Interfaces

“…MPLANTABLE wireless transceivers are an essential part of implanted neural recording systems used for treatment and for research on neurological impairments [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Simultaneous neural stimulating and recording systems in large scale require many electrodes interfaced, perhaps permanently, to the central and peripheral nervous systems.…”

“…The most important features for the implanted circuit are small size and very low power consumption [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. To achieve these goals we modify the traditional use of separate uplink and downlink subsystems, and propose a full-duplex data transceiver, with one dual band RF bidirectional data link.…”

A Multichannel Integrated Circuit for Electrical Recording of Neural Activity, With Independent Channel Programmability

“…However, because of (i) the constantly increasing density of multi-electrode arrays, (ii) the need for fully implantable recording devices and (iii) the use of smaller electrodes, several of these problems still remain. A complete review of neural interfaces is presented in [21].…”